Read Online Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy by Tracy St.John - Free Book Online Page A

circle,
thinking something was off about the room. After a moment I had it.
“It’s odd to be missing a TV.”
    “ Television was long after
this hotel’s time.” He popped the cork and quickly poured as
champagne fizzed over the mouth of the bottle. “You can always go
above ground and watch the living’s televisions.”
    I sat down at the table as Dan took the
covers from our meal. I sniffed appreciatively at the baked salmon
in a cream sauce, herbed green beans and scalloped potatoes baked
in three cheeses. My mouth watered. “Is this real food or ghost
food?”
    Dan laughed. “The bubbly is from the
memory of a very good sommelier who worked in this hotel in the
1890’s, and the food is from the memory of a top chef who cooked
for the Goulds when railroad barons were still in
vogue.”
    “I’ve never tasted anyone’s memories
before.” I took a cautious bite of the salmon, and moaned with near
orgasmic delight as it practically melted in my mouth. The creamy
sauce was the perfect mix of savory with a tinge of sweetness.
After I swallowed I said, “This is weird to be dead and eating.
Delicious but weird.”
    Dan raised his glass and I clinked mine
to his. “Don’t worry. The novelty wears off soon
enough.”
    We ate and drank in companionable
silence for awhile. I found myself almost stopping after devouring
half my plate. The old habit of calorie counting tried to have its
way with me, and it took a few moments before I realized I could
pig out without repercussions. After all, how would one get fat on
memories? Feeling marvelously decadent, I cleaned my plate and
sucked down three glasses of champagne. Dessert was a gorgeous
confection of moist chocolate cake, strawberries and fudge sauce. I
ate mine and half of Dan’s when he claimed he wasn’t much for
chocolate.
    I couldn’t get drunk from the booze,
but I felt giddy nonetheless from my feast. Portion control had so
flown out the window. Sitting back in my chair with a contented
sigh, I asked, “So what’s in store for the rest of the night?
Obviously we don’t sleep.”
    Dan stretched. “We’ll go to tonight’s
para meeting. Some of Tristan’s aides will want to question you,
try to help you recover your memories.”
    “They’re all ghosts too, or can the
other paras see me?”
    He shook his head. “You’ll have to
enter the body of a living channel to speak to
everyone.”

    I frowned. “What?”
    Dan reached to pat my hand. “Try not to
worry about it yet. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to
it.”
    He regarded me for a moment before
carefully speaking again. “Can I ask something without
offending?”
    I was pretty sure I knew what direction
he was heading. “You mean about me being an escort?”
    He nodded. “Were you good at it? I
mean, I know you’re pretty incredible with sex.” His sudden evil
grin made me chuckle.
    “Thank you.”
    “But sex isn’t all of it, is it?
Otherwise, you’d just be a prostitute.”
    I smoothed the fringe of my flapper
dress and admired the beadwork. “For me, sex is only a small part
of being an escort. In fact, I didn’t have to sleep with my clients
at all, but they paid extra if I did, under the table. I planned to
use the money to go back to school and take up fashion design.” I
grinned. “As you noticed, I have a natural flair for
it.”
    Dan smiled wistfully, almost as if sad
for my missed opportunity. “You would have been good. You have
excellent taste in clothes.”
    “Thank you.” I thought about my life
and decided to come completely clean with him. After all, he’d
shared his darkest secret with me. “I’d have probably done it
without the money. The sex, I mean.”
    “Really?”
    I nodded. “I have a man-sized libido. I
love sex. I might even have an addiction to it. Sometimes I wonder
if I’m not a nymphomaniac.”
    “But whereas if it were me, a man
sleeping with a bunch of women, it doesn’t play as ugly in
society’s mind as when a woman does